William w



(No Model.)

W. W. LE GRANDE.

ELECTRIG RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 287,446. Patented Oct. 30, 1883.

- IJVVEJVTOR WW 42 4M, m V9 7! WITNESSES JKC,

Attorney .iij ivrrr;

WILLIAM w. LE GRANDE, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, AssICNoE To THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC RAILWAY sIeNAL COMPANY, or sAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 287,446, dated October 30, 1883.

Application filed April 6, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM W. LE GEANDE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Railway-Signals; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable oth- IO ers skilled in the art to which it appertains to as day signals; and it consists in a novel con- 'struction. and combination of devices, which will. be readily understood from the following particular description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a railway-signal 3c constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a rcar view thereof, with the door of the casing open. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line or m of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detached perspective view of the signal-disk, magnet,

3 5 and armature, and Fig. 5 is a detached view, in elevation, of the magnet and armature.

Referring to Fig. 1, the letter A indicates a circular signalcase, having in its front wall a series of openings, a, through which may be 0 observed a signal-disk, B, which is mounted within the casing on a central shaft, b, the front end of which has its bearing at the center of the front wall of the casing, while its rear end is supported by a standard, 0, within 5 the casing. This shaft 1) is provided with radial arms (I, which support a segmental softiron plate, E, which is slightly eccentric to the shaft, and serves as the armature of an electro-magnet, F, which is arranged below it on a suitable block of wood or other base-piece at the bottom of the casing. The signal-disk is provided near one edge with a counter- 'weight, NV, mounted on a suitable pin, and

the disk to move is such that when said disk performs a complete movement, the portion which is visible at any time through the openings in the casing will be entirely removed from said openings and concealed behind the wall, while fresh portions of the disk will be brought into view. The disk may be painted or otherwise colored in spots or sections, so arranged that when the disk is in its normal position one color will show through the openings in the casing, and when it is moved its full di'st'ance another color will show. The disk moves edgewise, and therefore meets with hardly any resistance from the air.

The armature F is so supported upon the shaft 1) that when the signal-disk is held in its normal position by gravity, the said armature will be held away from the position in front of the poles of the magnet, but with one edge adjacent to said poles and within attractive distance thereof, while the other edge is considerably elevated. Now, owing to the eccentricity of the segmental armature, if the magnet be charged, said armature will be moved in a path across the ends of the magnet-cores, and as it moves in response to the attraction of the magnet, the distance between its surface and the poles of the magnet will be gradually decreased in that portion which is approaching the magnet, and increased at that portion which is receding from the magnet, so that the movement of the armature in the desired direction will not be retarded by countor-attraction. Supposing the parts to be in position, as shown in full lines, Fig. 2, if the magnet should now be charged, the armature will be attracted to the position indicated by dotted lines, thus giving the signaldisk a partial rotation in opposition to the gravity of I00 the weight WV, until the pin supporting the weight strikes the upper stop, 1), this movement of the disk causing a difi'erent color to be shown through the openings in the casing from that which is exposed when the disk is held in its normal position by gravity. When the circuit of the magnet is broken and its cores lose their attractive power over the armature, the counter-weight will-cause the disk to return to its original position.

I do not limit myself to any particular form of movable signal, as it is obvious that a properly-weighted semaphorearm may have its position changed by the alternate action of gravity and a properly-attached armature arranged in the relation shown to an electromagnet.

The signal shown in the drawings is adapted for either day or night use, as the disk may be composed of a material through which the.

light of a lamp will be properly transmitted to illuminate those portions of the disk which show through the openings in the casing. The letter Q designates a lamp supported upon suitable shelf behind the signal-disk within the casing.

I have designed my improved signal especially for use in connection with the improved railway-signal circuit described in Patent No. 272,276, granted to me on the 13th day of February, 1883; but it may obviously be used in other circuits, either closed or open.

Having now fully described my invention and explained the operation thereof, I claim- 1. The combination, with the casing having openings in its front wall, of the signal-disk mounted on a shaft within said casing, and

WVILLIAM V. LE GRANDE.

\Vitnesses:

T. W. KENNEDY, J AY H. HUBER. 

